Transcript of "Spanish reflexive verbs and daily routines"

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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 1 of 5 Spanish Reflexive Verbs and Daily RoutinesReflexive constructions consist of a reflexive pronoun and a verb. An example is: Me despierto.(I wake up). In English, reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves; for example, myself,yourself, ourselves, etc. In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns are: me, te, se, nos, os, se. ASpanish reflexive verb in the infinitive has se attached to the end of it, such as, despertarse. Me despierto a las ocho. (I wake up at 8:00.)To conjugate a reflexive verb, use the reflexive pronoun that corresponds with both the subjectand the verb form. It goes in front of the verb: (Yo) me despierto a las ocho.Me despierto a las ocho. I wake up at 8:00.Te despiertas a las ocho. You (familiar) wake up at 8:00.Se despierta a las ocho. You (formal) wake up at 8:00. He/She wakes up at 8:00.Nos despertamos a las ocho. We wake up at 8:00.Os despertáis a las ocho. You (familiar, plural) wake up at 8:00.Se despiertan a las ocho. You (formal, plural) wake up at 8:00. They wake up at 8:00.In a sentence with a reflexive construction, the subject not only performs the action, but alsoreceives the action. Look at this example of the use of the reflexive verb cortarse. Ayer, me corté. (Yesterday, I cut myself.)The subject did the cutting, that is, the subject performed the action. Also, the subject got cut,that is, the subject received the action.One way that reflexive verbs are used is with daily personal routines. You will find a list ofreflexives verbs on page 2.Free handout - http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License):Alex@Faraway, AMagill, danielcraig, NeitherFanboy, animm, Kathy Cassidy, rileyroxx, sean dreilinger

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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts – For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 2 of 5Daily Personal Routines acostarse (ue) to go to bed levantarse to get up afeitarse to shave maquillarse to put on makeup bañarse to take a bath peinarse to comb one’s hair cepillarse los dientes to brush one’s pintarse to put on makeup teeth cuidarse to care of oneself ponerse la ropa to put on one’s clothes despertarse (ie) to wake up quitarse la ropa to take off one’s clothes dormirse (ue) to fall asleep secarse to dry off ducharse to take a shower vestirse to get dressed lavarse to wash oneselfSentences that use reflexive verbs are constructed differently in Spanish as compared to English. Él se lava. (He washes himself.) Él se lava la cara. (He washes his face.)Look at this sentence: Él se lava.In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun se acts as a direct object. To determine the directobject, find out whom or what is the subject acting upon. In this case, ask this question:“Whom is he washing?” The answer is: “himself”.Now look at this sentence: Él se lava la cara.In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun se acts as an indirect object. It may be easier to find thedirect object of this sentence first. Ask the question: “What is he washing?” The answer is:“the face”. Now, you need to find the indirect object. To determine an indirect object, find outto whom or for whom a subject is acting. In this case, ask the question: “For whom is hewashing the face?” The answer is: “for himself.”Note that in this case, the definite article is used before the direct object (“the”). In Spanish, thedefinite article is used when the direct object is a body part or an article of clothing. In English,we use the possessive pronoun my, your, his, her, etc.: He washes his face.Reflexive versus Nonflexive VerbsWhen an action is performed on another person, a reflexive pronoun is not used. Despierto a mi hermano a las ocho. (I wake my brother up at 8:00.) Ella cortó la manzana por la mitad. (She cut the apple in half.)Free handout - http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License):Alex@Faraway, AMagill, danielcraig, NeitherFanboy, animm, Kathy Cassidy, rileyroxx, sean dreilinger